1. Semantics Ambiguity The proposition and truth conditions Entailment
Denotation
Intension
Extension
Linguistic relativity
Semantic primes
Hope you all had a good and profitable week. Sorry I couldn’t be here. But I learned a new phrase. Chicago.
We probably won’t get to linguistic relativity and issues of semantic primes today.
English 306A; Harris

2. English 306A; Harris

3. Prostitutes Appeal to PopeVP S NP V P N VP S NP V P N
DOING
EXPERIENCING
VCOMP
VCOMP
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Agent
Patient
Patient
Experiencer
Ambiguity: so there are really two sentences <CLICK>
(Two structures for I saw the man from the store) Structurally, however, they are the seame <CLICK>
Where does the ambiguity lie?
Lexical <CLICK>
But remember the verb calls the shots: the polysemy requires different event schemata
Doing <CLICK>
Experiencing <CLICK>
They require different semantic roles:
Agent + Patient, Patient + Experiencer
Polysemy: appeal 1. be attractive to 2. make (attractive) argument to
English 306A; Harris

4. Farmer Bill Dies in HouseVP S
Farmer Bill Dies in House NP V P N VP S
Farmer Bill Dies in House NP V P N V1
HAPPENING V1
HAPPENING
Patient
Location
Patient
Location
Homonymy: Bill, bill
Polysemy: die; house (House)
English 306A; Harris

5. Iraqui Head Sells Arms V2 V2VP S
Iraqui Head Sells Arms NP V N A VP S
Iraqui Head Sells Arms NP V N A
DOING
DOING V2 V2
Agent
Patient
Agent
Patient
Polysemy: head 1. Top of body appendage 2. Top of state person
Polysemy: arms 1. Lateral appendages 2. Weapons
English 306A; Harris

6. British Left Waffles on Fauklands
VCOMP
DOING
VT-COMP NP VP NP VP A N V P N N V N P N
British Left Waffles …
British Left Waffles …
Agent
Agent
Patient
Polysemy: waffles 1. Food stuff with lots of declivities 2. To changes position multiple times
Homonymy: left
English 306A; Harris

7. Drunken Drivers Paid $1000! V2 V2
TRANSFERRING VP S
Drunken Drivers Paid $1000 NP V N A
HAVING V2 V2
MOVINGDOING
MOVING
MOVINGHAPPENING
MOVING
Possessor
Patient
Possessor
Patient
Source
Patient
Goal
Patient
Patient
Agent
Patient
Semantic roles: drivers, Agents vs. Patients, Sources vs. Goals
English 306A; Harris

8. Deer Kills 17,000! S S
VCOP V2
BEING
Essive
Patient
DOING
Agent
Patient NP VP NP VP
(V) N N V N
Deer Kills (equal) 17,000
Deer Kills 17,000
NOTE: This one is a bit tricky because
of the implicit verb (headline-ese)
and the non-be copula; exam questions will not involve structures this complex.
Polysemy: kill cause to be not alive cause to be not viable
English 306A; Harris

9. Kids Make Nutritious SnacksV2
DOING
VCOP
BEING NP VP NP VP N V A N N V A N
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Patient
Patient
Essive
Agent
NOTE: This one is a bit tricky because
of the non-be copula; for exams, assume be is the only copula, and that the BEING
Schema always involves main-verb be.
Polysemy: make 1. Construct 2. Can become
English 306A; Harris

10. Hospital Sued by Seven Foot DoctorsVP S NP PP AP
HAPPENING
HAPPENING
VCOMP
VCOMP
… Sued by Seven Foot Doctors
… Sued by Seven Foot Doctors
Agent (Patient = hospital)
Agent (Patient = hospital)
polysemy: foot
English 306A; Harris

11. Propositions/Sentences
The cat is on the mat.
Homer eats crap.
Marge really makes the best gelatine towers.
Patty and Selma have a secret undergarment.
Sentential ambiguity is effectively something that looks like one sentence that is actually two. Or more precisely, one sentence that implies more than one proposition.
Event schemata are part of meaning. Semantic roles are part of meaning. But what linguists and philosophers mean by semantics is a fairly narrow sort of meaning concerning truth conditions and denotation.
English 306A; Harris

12. “The cat is on the mat” x(Cx) & y(My) & xyO On the mat, is the cat.
On the mat is where the cat is.
It is the case that the cat is on the mat.
Circumstances are thus: the cat is on the mat.
The aforesaid cat … yada, yada, yada
English 306A; Harris

13. Truth conditions The cat is on the mat. There exists a cat. 
There exists a mat.
The cat is located on the mat. 
English 306A; Harris

14. Truth conditions True The cat is on the mat. There exists a cat. 
There exists a mat.
The cat is located on the mat. 
True
English 306A; Harris

15. Truth conditions The cat is on the mat. There exists a cat. 
There exists a mat.
The cat is located on the mat.  
English 306A; Harris

16. Truth conditions False The cat is on the mat. There exists a cat. 
There exists a mat.
The cat is located on the mat.  
False
English 306A; Harris

17. Truth conditions True False Proposition World The cat is on the mat.
x(Cx) & y(My) & xyO
On the mat, is the cat.
On the mat is where the cat is.
It is the case that the cat is on the mat.
Circumstances are thus: the cat is on the mat.
The aforesaid cat … yada, yada, yada
True
False
English 306A; Harris

18. Truth conditions Proposition
Patty and Selma have a secret undergarment.
World
English 306A; Harris

19. Truth conditions Proposition
Patty and Selma have a secret undergarment.
World
English 306A; Harris

20. Truth conditions True Proposition
Patty and Selma have a secret undergarment.
World
True
English 306A; Harris

21. Entailment
A relation between the propo-sitions underlying sentences (X, Y), such that
if the proposition underlying sentence X is true, the proposition underlying sentence Y must be true.
(Conversely, it is impossible for the proposition underlying sentence Y to be false and the proposition underlying sentence X be true )
English 306A; Harris

22. Entailment
A relation between the propo-sitions underlying sentences (X, Y), such that
if the proposition underlying sentence X is true, the proposition underlying sentence Y must be true.
(Conversely, it is impossible for the proposition underlying sentence Y to be false and the proposition underlying sentence X be true )
English 306A; Harris

23. Entailment A relation between sentences (X, Y), such that
if sentence X is true,
sentence Y must be true.
(Conversely, it is impossible for Y to be false and X be true.)
English 306A; Harris

24. Entailment X = Y’s = I saw Maggie at the rave. There was a rave.
Maggie was there.
I saw Maggie.
I have eyes.
There was light at the rave. …
English 306A; Harris

25. Entailment X = Y’s = I saw Maggie at the rave.
The rave was on Tuesday.
The rave was in Mr. Burns’s rec room.
Maggie is Homer’s daughter.
Raves are so cool.
Raves are so nineties. …
English 306A; Harris

26. Mutual entailment X entails Y, Y entails X. X’s and Y’s =
I saw Maggie at the rave.
Maggie, I saw at the rave.
It was Maggie I saw at the rave.
Maggie was seen by me at the rave.
English 306A; Harris

27. Lexical meaning Denotation
Set membership.
The entities, actions, or qualities in the world picked out by words or phrases.
English 306A; Harris

28. Lexical meaning Connotation
Experiential implications
The feelings, attitudes, moods, implied by a term or phrase
English 306A; Harris

29. Lexical meaning Connotation
Gay
Queer
Homo
Homosexual
Omi-polone
Batting for the other team …
English 306A; Harris

30. Lexical meaning Connotation
Registers, jargons, slangs, argots, capitalize heavily on connotation--on the speaker and/or hearer’s stance toward a meaning, and toward each other, how they feel about the meaning and each other.
English 306A; Harris

31. Lexical meaning Denotation
Phrase
Extension
Intension
Homer’s daughter
Lisa Simpson Maggie Simpson
Female progeny of Homer Simpson
The assistant to Monty Burns
Smithers
The individual paid to assist Montgomery Burns
Selma’s secret under-garment
Rocket bra
An article of Selma’s clothing that is intimate and known only to a few.
English 306A; Harris

32. Lexical meaning Denotation
Phrase
Extension
Intension
PM of Canada
Brian Mulroney Jean Chretien Paul Martin Stephen Harper
Leader of Canada’s governing party
Stanley Cup Champions
Hurricanes Red Wings Penguins
Winners of Canada’s annual summer NHL tournament*
Capital of Manitoba
Winnipeg
City containing provincial legislature of Manitoba
*Except for the summer of 05 when the fatcats were fighting off-ice.
English 306A; Harris